IT Support Scams are Everywhere. Here’s What You Should Know

Chances are you’ve encountered a couple of tech support scams in your days. These people frequently dial random numbers in an attempt to get the person on the end of the phone long enough to trust them with remoting into the device. These kinds of scams are designed to be as vague as possible, and since most people have computers that are at least a couple years old, they tend to experience some kind of sluggishness that makes them believe that something is genuinely wrong. This can turn out to be a grave mistake.

Other scammers are starting to use more sophisticated measures, and it’s all thanks to their possession of more specific information about the users. This could include the computer’s name, model number, and serial number, as well as any other contact information about the device’s owner, including their telephone number, email address, and customer number.

These scams are growing in number and continue to target those who have purchased devices from large, reputable companies who produce some of the most popular solutions on the market. Companies like Lenovo, Microsoft, Apple, Dell, and many more have all had to deal with support scammers making a mockery of their business practices. It only makes sense that these scams will continue to grow in number as time goes on.

What Can You Do? It doesn’t matter how proactive your IT support is. It’s unlikely that any manufacturer would ever call you for any reason regarding an issue with your computer. The only way (though unlikely) this would happen is if you’ve subscribed for a similar service of your own free will. Even then, there is a very involved authorization process attached to this support. Imagine if every single manufacturer called every single buyer of their devices--it’s just not feasible under normal circumstances.

If you receive a call like this, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. If you share a network with other users, this is even more important; as, if you give an unauthorized entity access to a specific device, it could have far-reaching repercussions for the whole network. Even though IT support scams are prevalent throughout the industry, you still want to make sure that you’re not falling for them.

XFER can help your business stay ahead of the game in terms of security and best practices. To learn more, reach out to us at 734-927-6666 / 800-438-9337.